She Was Beautiful
by liveforDBZ
Summary: Power, after all, is intoxicating to all, even the angels. The story of how Zeno came to be and how The Grand Minister manipulates him. Written as a one-shot, but if there's interest I might be convinced to make it a multi-chapter.


The legends say she was beautiful.

Her skin was a vibrant lilac, her eyes a shocking pink. Her hair, so much like her eyes, fell in soft waves to her chin. She was everything that was good, everything that was light. With every breath she took, she gave breath to others, wherever she walked, life grew in her wake. She was known as a myth among many through the omni-verse. She was known as The Great Mother, Mother Nature, The Giver of Life. She was kind, she was strength. She was hope, she was freedom.

Under her watchful eye, the children of her hand flourished. They knew peace, they knew prosperity. When they became plentiful, she created the kais to watch over them and to continue her work of creation. She was loved by all those who revered her. But behind her soft exterior she harboured a sharp edge.

For where there is light, there is darkness. Where there is peace, chaos brews. She was no stranger to balance. She knew of its importance. It was why she created some to be predator and some to be prey. It was why she brought night as well as day. It was why she gave a large sun, and many smaller moons. Like all mothers, The Great Mother was a force to be reckoned with. Few outmatched her strength. She was fierce and formidable.

Many sought to seize control of her worlds, of her universes. They thought themselves conquerers, they thought themselves invincible. They didn't believe in her. They thought consequences were beneath them. They thought themselves unaccountable. To those she showed no mercy. They underestimated her. They didn't know the truth of her origin, the truth of her strength. To the uneducated she appeared weak. She looked too delicate for battle. Too feminine to harbour any real threat. To those would-be emperors she showed little mercy. With a flick of her wrist she would morph into rage. Her eyes, once so etherial and kind, became fire. Her aura would raise around her in a twisting wind. Suddenly, she didn't seem so soft. Fear stuck the hearts of those who pushed her there. In a moment, they knew they were at their end. Some would plead for their lives. Some met her with a fierce determination to go out fighting. All fell at her hand. With seemingly no effort at all, she stuck them down. Soon the legends of her goodness were met with stories of her ferocity, and, for a time, no one dared to find out if the rumours were true.

She was a contradiction. The most loved being in existence was also the most feared. She had a face that demanded protection. But she held more strength than any kai or mortal.

Alone, she did not bring balance. Under her reign the multi-verse grew. Destruction was minimal. The kais kept their universes in a constant state of growth. That was when he came.

He was her opposite. His skin a smooth teal, his eyes a deep yellow. He was The Great Destroyer, created to match The Great Mother's every step. Where she created life, he destroyed it. His strength equaled hers. Neither could gain an upper hand against the other. He created the destroyers to match her kais. At first she struggled against him. They fought often; their battles raged, a clash of light and dark that brought rain to nearby worlds and lit up their skies with streaks of light. Their blows thundered across lands. When he saw her become rage, he would smile. Where others ran for their lives, he ran towards her. They were like magnets, opposite polarities forced together. What began as opposition became attraction. What began as hate, became love.

For the first time in her existence, The Great Mother gave life to a child of her own. He was a product of life and death. With the snap of a finger he could destroy worlds, and with a nod of his head they were reborn. He had skin of his father and mother, and was built with their sharp edges and curves. They named him Zeno. As Zeno grew from a baby into childhood, it was clear he had an unnamable spirit. He desired much, and as the son of the greatest beings in existence, his every want was met without question. He never knew hardship or struggle. He was bored often, so his father taught him to destroy. Try as she might, The Great Mother struggled to teach him that to give life was more rewarding that taking it. Zeno despised work. Destruction was fun; it gave him an instant high. Creation took too much time, too much effort. And with it came more beings that knew nothing of him: beings beneath him.

As time passed, Zeno became a rambunctious child. He was nosey and curious. The omni-verse was his playground. He met all sorts of kais and destroyers. Some survived his whims, others were not so lucky. One day, while exploring the 12th universe, Zeno met a strange blue man. He had white hair and called himself The Grand Minister. He claimed to be an angel. Zeno had never met an angel before. He decided quickly that he liked angels. This angel in particular was very fun. He catered to Zeno's every whim. He entertained him. He had a destructive streak like Zeno.

The Grand Minister soon became Zeno's closest friend and confidant. Zeno told him of his mother who wanted him to be something he wasn't. He told him of his father, the greatest destroyer in the omni-verse. This made The Grand Minister confused.

"Are you not the greatest destroyer in the omni-verse?"

This question confused Zeno. How could he know? How could he discover who was stronger? The Grand Minister planted a seed with that simple question. It burned in Zeno's mind. He was too childlike to see how the thoughts became obsessive. They turned inwards and began to grow a negative energy into the impressionable youth. Soon, he could not stand not knowing any longer. He confronted his father.

It was a battle to rival those of his father and mother's. Universes were destroyed in its wake. The Great Mother tried to stop it, but even she could not get in between two such powerful destroyers. She was forced to watch as her son murdered his father. When it was over, she was left hollow. Her great love gone, her child to blame. Her grief exploded from her chest. For the first time, her power destroyed. Worlds were nothing but dust in the wake of her sorrow. The kais felt her sadness, but they knew there was nothing they could do but to continue to create in her stead. They took on her mantle and held it for her until such a time that she would once again create.

The Grand Minister hid his glee. Power, after all, is intoxicating to all, even the angels.

It took little whispering to convince Zeno to deal with his mother. Her pain had attacked her from the inside. She was vulnerable, she was weak. He imprisoned her deep within his palace. He left her in darkness where she could not feed off of light. In darkness where she could not create.

Without his father or his mother, Zeno ceased to grow. He had damned himself to live as a child forever. This curse was not apparent to him, however. He was free and he was boisterous. Why would he want to grow up anyways? He had The Grand Minister to be his adult - his sense of reason. The angel could serve as his advisor, and it was he alone who Zeno would listen to and trust.

Without The Great Mother, wars raged and universes were conquered. Without her, poverty came into being and suffering ran rampant. Without her, the kais cried and the angels came to govern the destroyers. Without her, corruption prospered. Without her, her child was manipulated. He forgot how to create, and knew only destruction.

The legends say she was beautiful. And perhaps she still is, alone in her prison of darkness.


End file.
